1. Field
The present disclosure relates to an electrode catalyst for a fuel cell, a method of preparing the same, a membrane electrode assembly (“MEA”) including the electrode catalyst, and a fuel cell including the MEA.
2. Description of the Related Art
Fuel cells can be classified as a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (“PEMFC”), a direct methanol fuel cell (“DMFC”), a phosphoric acid fuel cell (“PAFC”), a molten carbonate fuel cell (“MCFC”), or a solid oxide fuel cell (“SOFC”), according to the type of electrolyte and fuel used in the fuel cell.
A PEMFC and a DMFC generally include a membrane-electrode assembly (“MEA”) that includes an anode, a cathode, and a polymer electrolyte membrane and is disposed between the anode and the cathode. An anode of a fuel cell includes a catalyst layer for accelerating oxidation of a fuel, and a cathode includes a catalyst layer for accelerating reduction of an oxidant.
A catalyst that includes platinum (Pt) as an active ingredient is generally used as an element of an anode and a cathode. However, since Pt-based catalysts include platinum, which is an expensive noble metal, and because a large amount of platinum (Pt) is usually used in the electrode catalyst for mass production of commercially available fuel cells, there is a need to reduce the manufacturing costs of such a system.
Thus, there remains a need to develop an electrode catalyst with a reduced amount of platinum (Pt) which provides excellent performance in a fuel cell.